Will Confronts the Missing Speechwriters and Toby's Message
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Will Bailey enters the office and meets the group of interns, introducing himself and asking about the missing speechwriting staff.
Cassie reveals that Toby Ziegler left a message for Will to call him, deepening the mystery about the missing staff.
Will steps into another office to call Toby, noting the interns' formal attire and their missed party, hinting at unusual circumstances.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Absent but purposeful — conveys a sense of being busy or evasive while manipulating staffing and message control.
Toby is not physically present but his voice (via voicemail) is the operative directive: he has told the interns to stay and left a message for Will, making him the absent orchestrator whose choices shift responsibility onto others.
- • Protect or shield the speechwriting operation by keeping interns in place
- • Redirect immediate managerial responsibility to Will without explanation
- • Control information flow through a terse instruction rather than presence
- • Direct presence is not always necessary to exert authority
- • Will can be relied upon (or used) to stabilize the team
- • Keeping certain matters opaque serves a larger tactical purpose
Calm, businesslike surface with a hint of impatience — focused on communicating facts rather than expressing worry.
Cassie greets Will, identifies the four women as speechwriting interns, and clearly relays Toby's voicemail instruction that Will should call—serving as the event's informational catalyst and steadying presence among uncertain juniors.
- • Ensure Will understands who is present and why they're there
- • Convey Toby's instruction accurately so leadership can be re-established
- • Protect the interns by presenting the situation clearly and deflecting uncertainty
- • Toby's instructions carry weight and must be followed
- • Will will accept responsibility or at least take the next step
- • The interns should remain compliant and professional despite disruption
Polite uncertainty: eager to help but uneasy about overruling more senior absence or providing definitive answers.
Lauren Chin identifies herself when asked, responds hesitantly to Will's request to locate the absent staff and defers to Cassie's prior statement—showing junior deference while signaling willingness to act.
- • Find out where the speechwriting staff has gone
- • Support Will's immediate request to re-establish staffing continuity
- • Protect the interns by following instructions rather than improvising
- • Senior staff will have an explanation but aren't present now
- • Interns should follow orders and defer to incoming senior direction
- • Will, as a senior figure, will direct the next steps
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The office phone is the immediate tool Will uses to respond to the catalyst: he picks it up, dials, and begins to call Toby. Functionally it bridges the physical absence of Toby and allows Will to seek explanation and instruction, dramatizing the shift from confusion to attempted control.
Toby Ziegler's voicemail functions as the plot catalyst: Cassie references it aloud to pass along Toby's instruction to Will, converting a puzzling absence into a directive. The message creates urgency without explanation and compels Will to act (to pick up the phone and call).
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The basement hallway and adjoining communications office serve as the event's physical stage: an after-hours, semi-private area where junior staff gather in party attire, and where Will must assess and impose order. The location compresses workplace informality and institutional urgency into a quiet, tense encounter.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Speechwriting Interns organization manifests here as the collective substitute workforce: four interns stuck at an after-hours party who have been asked to remain. Their presence signals institutional strain (senior writers missing) and provides the White House with available but inexperienced labor at a critical moment.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
No narrative connections mapped yet
This event is currently isolated in the narrative graph
Key Dialogue
"CASSIE: Mr. Ziegler left a message that you should call him."
"CASSIE: There's an intern party tonight, but Mr. Ziegler told us to stay."
"WILL: Doesn't sound that good, does it? Toby, it's Will."